Depression
by Loving Healer
Summary: Percy Jackson and Grover Underwood befriended a boy named Nico di Angelo. But when they have to promote from elementary school and leave Nico alone, they promise to meet each other again in high school. But, what do they find once they find out Nico goes to their school? They didn't seem to find Nico; it was an exact opposite of the Nico they once knew. But, why was he like this?
1. Prologue

_**Author's Note: I hope you guys like my…fifth Pernico fanfic. I haven't really started the other fanfics except for The Violin That Started it All and The Risk in the Choice. Well, hope you guys like this new fanfic I came up with! **_

_**Oh and also, this is in Percy's POV. Just a note so you guys don't get confused. **_

_**My prologues are pretty short, so my chapters are actually a bit longer than this. Just a heads up.**_

_**Note: Sorry for any kind of mistakes! I do not have an editor/beta reader, so this fanfic isn't perfect in terms of grammar, punctuation, etc. I am all on my own on this fanfic…how sad.**_

_**Warning: Bullying, violence (I'll add more along the way)**_

_**Disclaimer: Pshh, you think I'm Rick Riordan? Please. Also, "Yancy" for the school name is from the first book The Lightning Thief. The actual school name is "Yancy Academy".**_

* * *

**Depression**

**Author: Loving Healer**

**Prologue**

* * *

"Percy, is there something wrong?" My best friend, Grover, asked me.

I was on high alert. I felt something wrong was happening around the small elementary school, but I couldn't place what.

"I'm going to go check." I got up from my seat on the swing and raced off without hearing Grover's consent.

I was Percy Jackson: sixth grader at Yancy Elementary. I had one best friend, which was Grover. I was always teased by this girl named Nancy Bobofit from my class, but I never paid her any attention. I just tried to ignore her as best as I could. Which wasn't my best because I was ADHD, and I really wanted to beat her up and teach her a lesson. If Grover wasn't there with me, then Nancy Bobofit would've been renamed to Nancy Bobo-unfit. She would have been _really_ unfit after I was done with her.

I sprinted from the swing set and set my destination to a place where none of the upper graders of the elementary school were allowed to go: the lower graders' playground. It was a large, blue playground with three slides about three or four times my size. There were steps leading up to the second floor of the playground, which had the entrance to the three slides and the "get the ball through the maze" game installed into the wall of the playground. There was a smaller slide at the front of the playground, and underneath the playground there was a fake steering wheel and a fake stick shift. And that was the source of my bad feeling.

There were three kids from another sixth grade class kicked at a boy on the floor. I couldn't really see well from the three bodies that were currently kicked at him and stomping around, but I didn't care. Rage washed over me and before I knew it, I punched the closest guy across the cheek.

He stumbled backward and immediately brought a hand up to his cheek. He glared at me, and his other friends stopped kicking the poor guy that was curled up on the ground. I glared back at them as they all turned to me.

"Well, who are you?" One lean-back sixth grader said with a cocky grin. I wanted to wipe that cocky grin off of his stupid little face.

"None of your concern," I snapped. "What do you think you're doing to him?" I gestured towards the guy on the ground.

"My mom was too busy going to work, that she forgot to pack me lunch," The cocky guy huffed while crossing his arms over his chest. "So, I decided to take this guy's lunch."

"That doesn't mean you beat him up for it!" I yelled at him, even though I could sense his obvious lie. "Who do you think you are?!"

The cocky guy shrugged. "It's three sixth graders against a scrawny little fourth grader. Who do you think is going to win?"

"I am."

I ran towards the cocky guy and punched him square in the face before he could even react. He staggered backward as well and fell on his bottom.

He gritted his teeth and glared up at me from the ground. "Who do you think you are?!"

"Percy Jackson, who is also a sixth grader," I finally answered before kicking him in the chest.

* * *

After I beat those guys up and they ran away, my attention turned to the boy on the ground. But he was no longer on the ground; he was standing by a tree, staring at me with astonishment.

He had short, black hair and big, dark brown eyes. He had olive-toned skin and he was pretty scrawny. But, he was just a fourth grader, so I shouldn't blame him. He wore navy blue jeans and a plain gray T-shirt. He had a black watch on his wrist which looked really expensive.

I gently smiled and walked up to him and held out my hand. "I'm Percy Jackson, nice to meet you. Do you…want to be friends with me and my other friend?"

He frowned in confusion. I guess it was rare for him to have others show kindness to him.

"_Um_, I'm Nico. Nico di Angelo," He timidly replied.

I continued to smile at him. "Do you want to be friends with me?"

"Do…do you really want to?" He asked for reassurance, shifting his weight between his feet.

I raised an eyebrow. "'Course I do." I stretched out my hand towards him and cocked my head to the side. "Do _you_ want to be my friend?"

He smiled brightly at me and nodded. "I really do!"

And he took my hand and our fingers intertwined.

* * *

I brought Nico over to where I ditched Grover—the swing set. He was still there, aimlessly swinging back and forth. He didn't seem to be thinking of anything in particular. He just looked straight ahead in a world full of nothing. As I like to call it, he was zoning out.

"Hey, G-man!" I called over to Grover, startling him out of his world of nothing.

He turned to me and attempted to glare at me, but it didn't work. He always had a light mood to him, so it was almost impossible for him to be angry; especially at me.

"Where'd you go, Perce?!" He exclaimed at me. "Yes, just go right ahead and ditch me. That is absolutely fine!"

I chuckled. I just loved Grover's constant ramblings. "Sorry, dude. I just had this strange feeling, and it turns out that these jerks were beating up Nico."

"Nico?" Grover raised an eyebrow. His gaze finally landed on the olive-skinned boy next to me. "Oh, so _that's_ Nico." He chuckled in embarrassment and casually shoved his fist into his pocket "I'm Grover, but you can call me G-man if you want. Percy does anyway.

"So, these jerks were just beating Nico up? For what?" Grover asked.

I shrugged. "I have no idea. Nico, do you know?"

Nico rubbed his right forearm. "They wanted my watch."

"Your watch?" Grover raised an eyebrow again. He glanced at Nico's wrist and his eyes widened. "Dude, that is an _ex-pen-sive_ watch! Where did you get that from?"

"My dad got it for me for my birthday," Nico replied.

"That is some birthday," Grover muttered. "So, are we adding a new addition to our group?"

I laughed. "Two people can't even be considered as a group. But yeah, I want to be friends with Nico. You want to?"

"I'm all in, Perce. But, we need a nickname for him."

Nico knit his eyebrows together. "A…nickname?" He cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah," Grover said, "like how I'm G-man and Percy is Perce. What about…Neeks?" Grover grinned. "Yeah, Neeks will be perfect for you. How about it?"

I nodded and mirrored his grin. "I like it."

Nico gave us a small smile. "It's fine."

"Come on," Grover patted Nico on the shoulder. "You don't have to be so polite, you know. Are we your first friends that you've ever had?"

Nico slightly nodded. "Yes, actually, I've never had friends before."

"Then, I guess this is an honor of being your first friends ever, right, Perce?" He glanced at me.

I nodded. "We better make this friendship with you something special."

* * *

Today it was now promotion day. Grover and I were moving to intermediate school. We made a huge bond with Nico, and both of us didn't want to leave him alone. He didn't have any other friends, and we felt pretty bad for leaving him. But we didn't have much of a choice. We didn't want to stay at elementary school forever until Nico got promoted when he was in sixth grade.

"Man! Why can't Neeks skip grades or something?!" Grover complained after the promotion ceremony was over.

"Well, he _is_ smart," I pointed out. "But he can't just skip grades, you know."

Grover groaned. "This is _so_ unfair!"

"I'll be fine."

Both of us whirled around to find the topic of our conversation, Nico di Angelo. Or Neeks the Angel, which is what Grover called him when he found out his last name.

"You sure, Neeks?" Grover asked with a hint of concern lacing his voice.

Nico nodded and fidgeted with his fingers, which was what he did when he was nervous or lying. Don't call me creepy, but I learned that over the few months I had with Nico. He fidgeted with his feet or his fingers whenever he was nervous or when he was lying. For instance, he was fidgeting with his feet when we first met. In this case, he was lying to us. Nico could be too nice for his own good.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Nico reassured us, but I now knew that he was lying. I decided against bringing it up.

"Be careful, Neeks." I smiled at him. "We'll see you in high school."

"Yeah, promise us that you'll be going to the same high school, alright?" Grover said. "Yancy High School, that's where we'll be. Woah, Perce." He glanced at me. "We'll be juniors in high school by then."

My eyes widened. "That seems too far from here."

"Don't say that!" Grover playfully smacked me in the shoulder. "That means the time to see Neeks is far away! And I do _not_ want to think of that."

I laughed. "True, true. We'll see you there Nico. In five years, we'll see you again. Promise?"

Nico nodded, a smile gracing his features. "I promise."

"We _will_ see each other again." Grover added. "It's destiny. I know it."


	2. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: I decided to write another chapter even though I didn't finish The Violin That Started it All, just because so many people were looking forward to the next chapter of this, and because I'm also looking forward to this fanfic too. So, I guess I would be working on four different stories now! Hurray…?**_

_**I have to go to my…dad's cousin's house? It's to honor their grandma's death, but I'm leaving later. So for now, I want to get this chapter in before I leave! You guys are pretty lucky, I wanted to write my own story during this time.**_

_**I also get "persistent" and "stubborn" mixed up. So, in this chapter, I used "stubborn," though I'm not so sure if it's the right word. Or, do they mean the same thing?**_

_**Well, whatever. With that said, hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**_

_**Note: Sorry for any kind of mistakes! I do not have an editor/beta reader, so this fanfic isn't perfect in terms of grammar, punctuation, etc. I am all on my own on this fanfic…how sad.**_

_**Warning: Bullying, violence (I'll add more along the way)**_

_**Disclaimer: Pshh, you think I'm Rick Riordan? Please. Also, "Yancy" for the school name is from the first book The Lightning Thief. The actual school name is "Yancy Academy".**_

* * *

**Depression**

**Author: Loving Healer**

**Chapter One**

* * *

"Hey, Perce!"

I whirled around to find my best friend, Grover, speeding up towards me. I yanked on my girlfriend's hand, letting her know that I was going to stop. She turned around and glanced at Grover, and she nodded in acknowledgement. She even smiled in amusement.

I met Annabeth when Grover and I were in the middle of eighth grade. She was a new student. She was a new student in our algebra class, the class that Grover and I shared with each other. She sat next to Grover, and of course, Grover was pretty outgoing. So, he became friends with Annabeth and invited her to sit with us at lunch. That was when I became friends with her, and then I ended up dating her in tenth grade. We were now in eleventh grade.

We were both in the middle of walking home, since her house was only a few blocks away from my own. Grover lived across the street from me, and he usually walked home alone or with another friend because he didn't want to "ruin the moment." But as of right now, Grover was sprinting towards my direction for an unknown reason.

I turned to face Grover, who was now a few feet away from me. "What's up, G-man?"

Grover held up his pointer finger, letting me know that I was supposed to wait. He placed his hands upon his knees, closed his eyes, and began to catch his breath.

My girlfriend, Annabeth, cocked up an eyebrow. "How long and how far were you running just to see Percy?"

"A while," Grover said between pants. He stood up to his full height after he caught his breath and glanced between Annabeth and me. "I just remembered something."

"And?" Annabeth asked with a hint of annoyance and impatience. "What did you remember?"

"Well, only Perce would be able to remember this, Annie," Grover said.

"I told you, don't call me Annie!" Annabeth repeated for the millionth time. Grover is just way too stubborn to stop.

Grover waved the command aside. "Whatever, Annie. At least you don't react as badly when I call Rachel 'Rach.'"

"Yeah, Rachel will yell and punch you." I laughed.

"_Not_ funny," Grover grumbled. "Anyway, what I was _trying_ to say was…well…it's more like a question first."

"And, what's the question?" Annabeth asked again, taking her hand from mine and crossing her arms.

Grover turned to me and gave me a goofy smile. "It's nothing serious, Perce. But, do you remember Neeks the Angel?"

"_Neeks the Angel_," Annabeth repeated slowly. "Is this one of Grover's stupid stories again?"

"They are _not_ stupid!" Grover cried.

I laughed. "No, it's not. Though, it _does_ sound like it, right?"

Annabeth nodded. "I'm surprised it isn't one of Grover's stupid stories. Well, if 'Neeks the Angel' isn't a fantasy, then who is he?"

"You know how Grover loves to give his friends nicknames?" I asked Annabeth, who nodded in response. "Well, Grover and I used to have a friend in elementary school. He was two years younger than us, though. His _real_ name was Nico di Angelo, but Grover likes to call him 'Neeks the Angel.'"

Annabeth smiled. "I see. That's probably the stupidest nickname Grover can ever give to someone. And Grover was in _sixth_ grade. Wow, I feel bad for Nico."

"Hey, that nickname was _gen-i-us_," Grover remarked. "Nico totally liked it."

"He did not," I retorted.

"He agreed with the nickname!" Grover waved his arms in the air for emphasis.

"Nico's too scared of you to deny anything."

"He was not!"

"Nico was in fourth grade, what would you expect?"

Annabeth laughed at our little argument. "You guys are such dorks."

"We are not!" Grover and I cried at the same time.

Annabeth held her hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. So, why did you want to ask Percy if he remembered Nico?"

"_Neeks_," Grover corrected.

Annabeth only rolled her eyes. "You are absolutely pathetic."

Grover sighed. "Annie, Annie, Annie. You just don't know how much magic nicknames have."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Grover. Nicknames contain magic. Totally."

"Anyway," I said, getting everyone back on topic, "why did you want to ask if I remember Nico? And yeah, I remember. I wish he was here though. Nico was awesome."

"Well, do you remember the promise that we made on promotion day?" Grover asked.

I frowned. Promise? We made a promise? I didn't think Grover remembered anything from five years ago. And I thought I was better at remembering things.

Then, it dawned on me. "The promise where Nico would go to the same high school as us?"

Grover nodded. "And, we're in eleventh grade right now. So, guess who's in ninth grade?"

"Grover, stop asking such obvious questions," Annabeth informed. "Nico's obviously the one in ninth grade. But, it's been five years. Would Nico even remember such a promise?"

"Annie, Annie, Annie," Grover repeated. "Of _course_ he would remember!"

"And why is that?" Annabeth inquired.

"Because he's _Nico_!" Grover replied like it was the most obvious thing in the whole world.

I rolled my eyes. "I think Nico would remember because he never had any other friends but us."

Annabeth cocked her head to the side. "He didn't have any other friends?"

I shook my head in reply. "No, and he told me it was because all the other kids knew he was really rich. They would all think that Nico was one of those shitty rich kids who thought they were superior to others with less money. It's pretty stupid. I didn't know he was rich until a week after he told us how his dad got him a super expensive watch for his birthday."

"Why did he tell you guys how his dad got him a watch?" Annabeth asked.

"Because Grover kept asking where his dad got all the money to buy him the watch. Turns out Nico kept avoiding the question because he thought we would ditch him because he was rich."

"Wow," Annabeth breathlessly commented. "So you guys were his first and only friends, huh?"

I nodded. "Yeah. That's why Grover and I didn't want to leave him when we were going to middle school. I wonder how he is now."

"Well," Grover piped in, "we could see if we wanted to. I mean, if Nico remembered the promise, then he should be at our school, right?"

"Well then," Annabeth said, "I really want to meet this Nico. But, some things could go wrong in this."

"Like what?" Grover asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He might not even be at our high school because he probably forgot. Or, what if Nico is a completely different person than he was before? During the five years of separation, he probably changed after not having any friends," Annabeth explained. "Or maybe, he probably has other friends, and he forgot all about you guys." Annabeth shrugged. "I don't really know Nico. I'm just making up some possibilities on what could go wrong. He might not even want to be your friend anymore. Who knows?"

"Nico would never forget about us!" Grover strongly retorted. "And, I doubt he wouldn't want to be friends with us. Maybe he'll be the happy-go-lucky guy like he always was."

"_Maybe_," Annabeth pointed out. "You said 'maybe.'"

"Okay, that was a mistake! Nico _will_ be the happy-go-lucky guy like he was before."

"Whatever you say, Grover. We'll see when we go to school tomorrow." Annabeth smiled mischievously like she's already met Nico.

I glanced between the two of them. "I feel like you guys are going to make a huge bet out of this."

Annabeth shook her head. "I don't make bets. Because I already know I'm going to win."

"You are _not_ going to win!" Grover yelled.

Annabeth continued to smile. "Okay, Grover. You never know. I mean, it's been five years. Something ought to happen."

"I hope nothing happened," I murmured to myself.

Annabeth took my hand and intertwined out fingers. "Come on, let's go home." She started to walk, until she turned around. "Grover, you want to walk home with us? You literally live across the street from Percy anyway. And don't worry; you're not going to 'ruin the moment.' We can't really _have_ a moment when we're walking."

Grover sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll come."

And we embarked on our journey home.

* * *

The next day when I arrived at school, I was almost tackled by Grover.

"Dude!" Grover said.

"What?" I asked, completely bewildered.

"Do you not remember? Today's Nico Remembrance Day!" Grover cheerily yelled.

"Nico Remembrance Day?" Annabeth said with a hint of amusement in her voice. She walked up from behind Grover and placed a hand on her hip. "This is _got_ to be interesting."

I rolled my eyes. "Nico Remembrance Day, huh? I feel bad for Nico."

Annabeth laughed at my comment. "You've got that right. Now, how long do you think it'll take us to find Nico anyway? We only have about thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes is a long time!" Grover remarked.

"It would be if we weren't looking for a needle in a haystack," Annabeth said.

"But we're _not_ looking for a needle in a haystack," Grover triumphantly pointed out.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It was a metaphor, Grover."

"Metaphor, Shmetamore," Grover offhandedly said.

"_Shemetamore_," Annabeth repeated. She brought a hand up to her forehead and exasperatedly sighed. "Please don't tell me you just said that."

Grover grinned. "I did. Now, let's go find Nico!"

Grover marched away while Annabeth dropped her hand back onto her hip glanced at me with a look that said: _Please help me_. I only smiled in amusement and shrugged. She sighed once more, took my hand, and followed Grover to wherever he planned to go.

I didn't have a _clue_ as to where Nico could be. And, if Annabeth was right, then how different could he possibly be? Well, all I could do is find Nico out of the thousands of people that attend this school and see for myself on what has become of Neeks the Angel.

Now I finally understood why Annabeth chose the "needle in the haystack" metaphor.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, I was pretty sure I memorized where every student in the whole school went to meet up with their friends. Well, every student but Neeks the Angel. He was pretty much _hidden_ from everyone that attended Yancy High School. I mean, where could _one_ person be? I was pretty sure I saw every single student that attended this school. All except for Nico, at least.

I was starting to lose hope. I mean, what if Nico didn't go to this school, just like what Annabeth said? I was tired of looking around this enormous school. My feet were starting to get sore. I absolutely _hated_ walking, which is why I signed up for the swim team, and not track and field.

"Guys, why don't we _stop_ wandering around and _ask_ someone if they know a Nico di Angelo around here?" Annabeth finally suggested.

Grover stopped and turned around. "You could've said that earlier!"

Annabeth shrugged. "Didn't feel like saying it."

"_Uh-huh_, whatever." Grover turned back around and started to look around the area we were in—the back of the library building.

There were only a few people at the back of the library building. There was a group of people of eight on one side, and another kid in the shade of a giant tree. I felt bad for the kid; that group of people was _totally_ neglecting him.

"Why don't we ask him? I doubt those people would answer us anyway," Annabeth suggested, pointing the teenager in the shade of the tree.

Grover shrugged. "Why not? Let's go."

When we trudged up to him, his featured became more definite. He had messy, black hair as if he just got out of bed (which I wouldn't doubt because it was early in the morning). He had a black T-shirt and black jeans. He had silver chains hanging off the side of his jeans, and a black hoodie was placed to his left. He had a super expensive, black watch on his right wrist, and he was currently listening to some music, since he had white earphones on. He also had a very expensive skull ring on his left pointer finger. He was sitting on the ground, with his left leg stretched out, and his right leg bent. His right arm rested upon his right knee.

"Hey, kid." Grover tried to grab his attention.

"Well, _that's_ rude," Annabeth huffed.

The teenager glanced up at us and raised an eyebrow. His fingers on his right hand started to fiddle with each other. He took out his left earphone and asked, "What do you want?"

He had such intimidating and piercing dark brown eyes. They were so full of pain and loss, I felt _really_ sorry for him. I'm surprised I've never seen this guy around school before. He seemed very noticeable once you saw his eyes.

"Look, _uh_, sorry for bothering you," Grover began, "but we're looking for a guy named Neeks the Angel. Do you happen to know where he might be?"

"Are you kidding?" The teen asked, though I could see his fingers started to play around with each other in a faster pace.

Annabeth elbowed Grover. "What my friend is trying to say is that we've been looking for a guy in ninth grade named Nico di Angelo. _Not_ Neeks the Angel." She glared in the direction of Grover. She then glanced back at the teen sitting on the ground. "Are you in ninth grade?"

The teen nodded. "Yeah, I am. But, I don't know who Nico di Angelo is," He muttered quietly. "Sorry."

Grover looked _really_ disappointed. "Alright, well thanks anyway." He glanced at Annabeth and me. "Maybe we should go ask a few other ninth graders to see if they know Neeks. If not, then I guess he doesn't go to this school."

I barely heard Grover's Plan B. I was too busy staring at his black, expensive watch. It looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite place my finger on where I've seen it before. It was on the tip of my tongue. Man, do I hate it when that happens.

The teenage glanced up at me. "What are you doing?" He said darkly. "Do you plan on stealing my watch?"

Grover and Annabeth glanced back at me. Grover raised an eyebrow at me, and I shook my head at the both of them. "No, I don't plan on stealing it. I _never_ steal things. It's just…I don't know. Your watch just looks familiar to me."

The teenager shrugged. "Many people could have the same type of watch. Maybe you've seen it somewhere else."

I shook my head once again. "No, I don't see expensive watched just _anywhere_. And, all the expensive watches that I _do_ get the chance to see are gold or silver. _Not_ black."

The teenager frowned at me. "Maybe you're just going crazy, because I don't recall ever seeing you except for around the school."

"No, I _definitely_ remember that watch from somewhere," I said again, with more certainty. But, I just _couldn't_ remember where I've seen that watch. Who was someone that I knew was rich?

"Percy, let's just go. Maybe the watch thing will come back to you," Annabeth said, grabbing my arm.

It clicked into my head like a person clicking on a light switch. I only knew one other person that was rich, and this teenager was a big, fat liar.

I yanked my hand away and pointed at the teen sitting on the ground. He raised an eyebrow at me, but I already knew _exactly_ who this person was.

"Nico," I flatly said, even though on the inside, I was celebrating on how I finally remembered where I've seen that watch.

"_What_?" Annabeth and Grover simultaneously asked.

"You big, fat liar," I told the teen on the ground. "You're Nico di Angelo."


	3. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: I'm typing this while watching "The Amazing Spiderman" and while typing on my sister's laptop, and for Day 2 of typing, on my dad's laptop (touch-screen laptops are so cool!). Oh well; at least I'm typing for you guys. I was going to type my other story, but I totally blanked out when I opened up the blank document, and I had no idea what to type. So, I typed this fanfic instead!**_

_**And, thank you guys so much for the reviews! It means so much to me that you guys actually like this fanfic. I don't really need reviews to keep typing, since I just don't really care if no reviews at all. I'm just happy to type, really! But anyway, thanks for taking the time and reviewing!**_

_**I also got a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt thanks to my friend! Gods I am so excited! I never thought his day would come, like literally. I need the Roman one now…that will be the next thing on my Wish List. Oh wait a second, I'll just give my friend fifteen dollars to buy me a Roman one. I don't feel like going through the whole buying thing and all. Man, am I lazy. **_

_**I'll also try to make the dialogue more…realistic instead of trying to make it so precise and correct with grammar and stuff. It's easier to imagine them saying it when it's like that. So, I'll try it in this chapter.**_

_**Well, I'm sorry I haven't been typing. I have…another problem so updates will be slow. I'm so so sorry about that! I wish I could change that somehow. But! Summer is arriving soon! (June 25, yeah, I know I get out late. I just started school late, that's all). So, once summer arrives, I'll be able to type for longer periods of time, which ALSO means that I'll get chapters done faster! (Especially since I'm typing four different stories). So, get ready for that!**_

_**On that note, I am on the verge of tears because of this movie. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! It's a longer chapter than usual, so congrats?**_

_**Note: Sorry for any kind of mistakes! I do not have an editor/beta reader, so this fanfic isn't perfect in terms of grammar, punctuation, etc. I am all on my own on this fanfic…how sad.**_

_**Warning: Bullying, violence (I'll add more along the way)**_

_**Disclaimer: Pshh, you think I'm Rick Riordan? Please. Also, "Yancy" for the school name is from the first book The Lightning Thief. The actual school name is "Yancy Academy".**_

* * *

**Depression**

**Author: Loving Healer**

**Chapter Two**

* * *

"_What_?!" Annabeth and Grover screeched.

"Hold up, hold up, Perce." Grover spread a hand in the air. "I mean, I know people change over the years and stuff, but someone can't change _this_ much!" Grover frantically waved his hand at who I assumed to be my rich friend from elementary school.

Who I assumed to be Nico di Angelo raised an eyebrow. "What are you _talking_ about?"

I glanced at Annabeth and Grover. "Just to let you know I am _not_ crazy." I glanced back at PNDA (Probably Nico di Angelo; that will be his name until I find out who this guy really is). "Admit it. You're Nico di Angelo, aren't you?"

PNDA stared at me like I was crazy. "No, I'm not. Just go away," He icily demanded.

I sat down next to PNDA without his consent. PNDA looked at me with disgust.

"Look, even if you aren't my friend from elementary school and you somehow manage to prove to me that you're not him, I still want to be your friend."

"Why?" He asked, his voice full of malice.

"Because," I genuinely smiled at him, "I'd never leave someone I find alone."

Annabeth chuckled. "That's Percy Jackson alright."

Then, an idea popped into my mind. "Wait a second, if you're not Nico di Angelo, then what's your name?"

He clenched his teeth, so I could tell I hit a sore spot.

Instead, he asked me, "Why do you care?" He glared at me.

"Because" I began my explanation, "if you tell me your name and it's _not_ Nico di Angelo, then you can prove to me that you're _not_ him."

"What if he lies to you and tells you a fake name?" Annabeth pointed out.

"Wow, make me feel stupid, sure, why not?" I huffed.

Annabeth chuckled. "Just pointing out the possibilities, that's all."

"That's your job, after all," Grover sighed.

PNDA sighed. "You know, I'm pretty good at lying."

"Then just don't lie to us," Grover said.

"Then how would you know that I'm lying when I _am_ lying?" PNDA raised a challenging eyebrow.

Grover stumbled over his words. When he realized that he couldn't find an answer, he huffed and gave up.

PNDA rolled his eyes at Grover's stupidity. "You gonna leave me alone now?"

I smiled at me. "'Course not. Like I said before, I would never leave someone that's alone."

PNDA sighed exasperatedly. "What if I want to be alone?"

"Who wants to be alone anyway?" Grover asked.

"Maybe I do," PNDA stared with no amusement at Grover.

"You're _cr-a-zy_," Grover pronounced. Then he smirked and said with the most horrible impression of the _Poptarts_ commercial, "_Crazy_ _good_."

Annabeth began to rub her right temple. "Please don't bring that commercial into this, Grover."

"Why not? Poptarts are good, you know." Grover smiled and elbowed Annabeth in the side.

"Don't even." Annabeth slightly glared at Grover, but he was already immune to Annabeth's glares.

"Guys," I attracted their attention, "I'm trying to become friends with PNDA."

"_PNDA_?" Annnabeth, Grover, and PNDA asked in mere confusion.

"What does that even stand for?" Annabeth asked me, which was probably one of the first questions she has ever asked me.

"It stands for 'Probably Nico di Angelo'," I explained to all three of them.

"At least you make better nicknames than Grover." Annabeth shrugged.

"Hey!" Grover cried. "I make _wonderful_ nicknames."

"And that was probably the biggest descriptive word you've ever used," Annabeth commented with a smirk in Grover's direction.

Grover sighed. "I have no idea why you're even dating this girl."

I shrugged. "Well, what can I say? I can say a lot of things actually."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Do you mean you can say a lot about me? Or did you mean you can just say a lot in general?"

I frowned for a moment, deep in concentration, before shrugging. "I don't know. Both, I guess."

Annabeth chuckled. "You better say a lot of things about me. _Good_ things at least."

"You guys are such a cute couple," Grover stated with sarcasm seeping into his voice. "But enough of that. Your friend that I _don't_ believe is Nico di Angelo just disappeared."

Annabeth and I exchanged perplexed glances, before turning back to Grover.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean when you say he 'disappeared'?"

Grover gestured to the spot where PNDA sat. "He's gone, doofus."

Annabeth and I stared at the spot where PNDA used to be sitting.

"Wow," Annabeth breathlessly said. "That guy can leave quieter than a mouse."

"But mouses are pretty loud," Grover remarked.

"_Mice_," Annabeth irritatingly corrected. "And, I think you're thinking about _rats_."

"Oh." Grover blinked blankly at Annabeth. She could only sigh and slap her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"What do you want to do now? PNDA or whatever you called him is gone," Annabeth asked.

I grinded my teeth together. "I—don't know. Maybe he'll be back tomorrow."

"Or maybe he's smart enough to stay away from this place because he suspects that you'd be here tomorrow," Annabeth surmised.

"Why do you _always_ have an alternative to something I say?" I whined.

"'Alternative'—nice usage of vocabulary." Annabeth nodded in approval. "And I say them because I'm just saying what could happen. PNDA—I think that's the nickname you gave him—might be smarter than you think."

"But I already know that Nico's smart," I brought up. "In elementary school, Nico had such good grades."

"But," Grover drawled, "this guy might not even be Neeks. And man, I was _so_ jealous of his grades. I think he tutored me once in Math."

"Wasn't he two grades below you though? How could he tutor you in something he's never learned?" Annabeth knit her eyebrows at Grover.

"_Exactly_," Grover slowly said. "He was _that_ smart. Neeks was a genius! He was the angel of Math!"

"But you said his nickname was 'Neeks the Angel' because his full name was 'Nico di Angelo', not because he was the 'angel of Math'," Annabeth pointed out.

"Whatever." Grover waved the statement aside. "His nickname works for both! I wish I had a cool name like 'Nico di Angelo'. 'Grover Underwood' doesn't work out very well. It sounds more like 'The rover is under the wood'. I mean, who wants a name like _that_?!"

"What about Percy's full name?" Annabeth pointed her thumb towards my direction.

"Okay, well 'Percy' is a pretty cool name. Or nickname, I guess. I mean, it could either be 'Percival' _or_ 'Perseus'. And his last name? Don't even get me started! 'Jackson' is the last name of 'Andrew Jackson'—our seventh President! 'Jackson' was also the last name of 'Thomas Jackson'—a general during the Civil fucking War! I mean, he has the last name of such cool people!"

"The only thing Grover could sound smart in is when he's talking about names." Annabeth sighed in exasperation. "But, Thomas Jackson was fighting for the Confederates in the Civil War, and the Confederacy lost."

"Well—whatever!" Grover cried. "At least he _has_ a cool last name."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Okay, Grover, whatever." She turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "What are _you_ smiling at?"

My smile didn't die at all. In fact, it became bigger. "Your conversations with Grover are so amusing. I just can't help it."

Annabeth rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time of the day. "Let's just get to class now, shall we? The bell's gonna ring soon."

* * *

After school when I walked into the front door of my house, my mom, Sally, and my step-dad, Paul, were both in the living room watching something on our TV. I smiled at the sight of them, dropped my ocean blue backpack by the door, and decided to go join them on the couch.

My mom, Sally, had long, straight brown hair with a few gray strands in it, but they weren't very noticeable. She always had such a warm smile across her face, which was why she had many laugh and smile lines. Her eyes were a very pretty and sparkly blue, and she always smelled like sweets—which was probably because she worked at a candy shop.

My step-dad, Paul, was actually my _second_ step-dad. My first step-dad, Gabe Ugliano (which in my opinion should be spelled _Ugly_ano) was so horrible that my mom divorced with him. She was pretty lucky to find Paul, and we both love him a lot more than Gabe. I call him "Paul" instead of "Dad" because, well, it just sounds better. I've had three dads so far, and I didn't feel like calling the third one "Dad". He was about thirty-something (I never bothered to ask him how old he actually was), and he had longish salt-and-pepper hair. He loved to read books, but as of right now, I didn't see a book near ten feet of him. Which really surprised me.

My first and _actual_ dad was named Poseidon Jackson. The reasons are unknown as to why his name was Poseidon. Maybe his parents like the ocean? I didn't know, but my dad _really_ loved going to the beach. That was probably the only memory that I had of him. I vaguely remembered him at all. I was really young when he was still living with my mom and me. My mom always refused to tell me as to why he left us in the first place. But she always got a faraway look on her face, so I decided to avoid the topic.

"Oh, hello, Percy," Paul greeted me with a smile.

"How was school, Percy?" My mom brightly smiled at me.

I shrugged. "Fine, I guess." At the moment I said the sentence, I realized that it _wasn't_ fine. I was having problems with a certain Nico di Angelo. Or PNDA if you wanted to call him that, because I wasn't so sure if that was really Nico di Angelo. What if it wasn't, and PNDA totally thought I was going crazy? I bet that could happen.

My mom seemed to read my facial expression, and guessed that school was _not_ fine, because she asked, "Are you sure? You don't seem to look very fine."

She patted the spot on the couch next to her, and I gladly obliged.

I sighed and glanced at my mom and Paul. "Paul, you won't be able to remember him because you've never met him. But, Mom, do you remember my friend my elementary school? Nico di Angelo?"

My mom's expression brightened. "Of course I remember him! He was such a nice and lovely boy. Very timid to, if I recall. His parents were such lovely people as well. Maria was especially nice. His sister was also very beautiful. I miss all of them. Why do you ask?"

Paul was very perplexed about whom all those people that my mom just named were, but he didn't comment or ask questions at all.

"I think I saw Nico today at school," I answered with a bit more excitement than I anticipated.

"Nico?" She asked with excitement as well.

I nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I might've."

"_Might've_?" My mom quizzically inquired.

"Yeah. The guy I found, well, I think he's Nico."

"Why do you think so?" My mom raised an eyebrow.

"Because he has the same exact watch as Nico!" I exclaimed.

"Many people could have the same watches, Percy" My mom pointed out.

"I know." I sighed as my shoulders slumped. "But, I have a feeling this guy was Nico. At promotion during sixth grade, we made a promise that we would go to the same high school. And, now this guy with the same watch as Nico's was there! He also has the same eyes as Nico, and he fidgets when he's nervous or when he lies, just like Nico. When he was saying that he _wasn't_ Nico, he was fidgeting. I'm pretty sure this guy was Nico."

My mom and Paul chuckled at my long rant.

"I suppose that could be Nico," My mom agreed. "But, why do you think he _isn't_ Nico?"

"He seems—different," I slowly explained. "He just wasn't the same as he was when he was in elementary school. What do you remember of him, Mom?"

My mom sighed, trying to recall Nico from way back. "Well, he was very shy and timid. He was quiet, and he smiled and laughed very easily. He was fun to be around, and he loved being around other people. I remember you told me that he never had any friends because he was rich, and everyone thought he was mean. I thought that was cruel, and so I began to like Nico a whole lot more than I used to."

She scanned my face for any change in emotion, until her eyes met mine again. "How is he like now?"

I deeply sighed. "The exact opposite. When I saw him, I didn't even _recognize_ him."

My mom knit her eyebrows at me. "Then, how did you even know it was him?"

"Well, Grover remembered the promise that we made with Nico after our Promotion is sixth grade. We decided to go looking throughout the _whole entire school_ to find Nico."

Paul chuckled once more. "That's Grover alright."

I smiled in amusement and nodded. "Yep. Anyway, Annabeth suggested that we ask someone instead to see if they know someone named Nico di Angelo. The person we ended up asking was the guy that I think is Nico."

"What a coincidence." Sally smiled.

I nodded. "When we asked him if he knew Nico di Angelo, he said he didn't know anyone by that name. But his fingers were fidgeting against one another when he said that. I never told him about that habit when we were in elementary school, so I doubt he lost that habit. I also saw the watch on his wrist, and it was the _exact_ same watch that Nico had when I first met him. His fingers were also fidgeting throughout the whole entire time we talked. I'm _certain_ that was Nico di Angelo.

"But, he wasn't the Nico di Angelo that I knew before. Remember Nico before, the way you described him?" I directed towards my mom.

She nodded. "I remember it clearly, as if it was just yesterday."

I nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, this Nico that I saw at the beginning of school today, he was the _complete_ opposite. He had bangs that covered his face, so I couldn't even see his eyes. He was wearing all black, and he had chains hanging from his pants. He had that black watch on his wrist still, but on his pointer finger, he had skull ring on it. It was pretty creepy if you ask me.

"He sounded really annoyed when he was talking to us, so I'm pretty sure he hates people now. He sounded really mean when he was talking to us. So, either he just doesn't remember us at all, or he just didn't want to be around us anymore." My voice slowly became quieter at the thought of Nico not remembering Grover and me.

My mom slowly nodded as the new information entered her head. "Maybe if he hates people, then you should just try talking to him alone, without Grover or Annabeth."

I was about to agree, but I remembered what Annabeth said when Nico secretly left. "But, what if he doesn't go back to that spot anymore? He might suspect that we're going to find him, so he probably went to another place to sit so we wouldn't find him."

My mom shrugged. "You'll see tomorrow, Percy. Any suggestions, honey?" She tilted her head to look back at Paul.

Paul took a sharp intake. "If he's not there where you found him tomorrow at school, then it'll be easier to find him because you know what he looks like now. If he wears all black, then he'd stand out from everyone else very easily."

Paul stopped to think about other suggestions to help me. "If Nico went through this"—He paused to think of the right phrase—"sudden transformation, then something bad might've happened when you went to intermediate school. What grade was he in when you and Grover promoted?"

"Fourth," I automatically replied. I knew so many things about Nico, it wasn't even funny.

Paul nodded. "He probably went through something horrible when you and Grover left for intermediate school. Maybe, oh I don't know, he lost someone dear to him in his life. Maybe he has been dwelling on that for so long, that he's pushed everyone he cared about before away so they wouldn't become…deceased. Maybe something else happened that has made him push everyone he has cared about away, and he turned himself into an Emo-looking character so he would scare everyone away."

"That…is truly amazing, Paul," I commented in awe. "Maybe that _did_ happen."

Sally nodded. "When my parents were lost in a plane crash, I pushed everyone I knew away for some time, and I mourned for them every second of the day. Maybe that's happening to him.

"Remember, Percy," Sally began, "if you're going to talk to him, remember that he is in a very sensitive and emotional state right now, if something bad happened to him before. You have to be gentle and kind to him. You can't force him to say what you want to hear." I already knew what my mom was talking about in that last sentence. I _was_ a bit too rough when I wanted to hear him say that he was Nico.

"Give him time to say what he wants; don't rush him," My mom finished her advice. "Alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I got it. Thanks, Mom and Paul."

Sally genuinely smiled. "Alright. Now that that's done. Go do your homework."

"Mom!" I whined. "Can I do it later?"

"You're going to forget if you try to do it later," My mom chastised. "Now go."

Paul chuckled at my mom's rapid change of emotion. "She's right, Percy. You should go do your homework now. I _am_ a teacher after all. If you don't do your homework, who knows what I'll do?"

I laughed. "Alright, alright. Fine, I _will_ do homework now. Happy?"

My mom laughed along with me. "Yes, of course, Percy."

I brightly smiled at them one more time before I headed up the stairs and into my room. Once tomorrow came, I would be very prepared to convince him to tell me his identity.

But what I didn't anticipate to happen decided to happen.


End file.
